Nancy Travis Books

I bought the book for my 3 sisters and me. I gave them to my sisters for Christmas and asked them to let me know when they read certain stories that reminded them of things they remember. I haven't heard from them yet, but I know I will, as all 4 of us are close at heart though miles apart. They all agreed it was a perfect gift.

I bought this book with the intention of giving it to my sister when I asked her to be my maid of honor at my wedding. I had forgotten that I already bought this book for her (I kept this copy for me). I marked a touching story in the book having to do with a wedding. She didn't get the meaning behind it, but it made her cry anyways and the best part is that she said yes!

I was bawling by the third story in the first chapter! This book is a real tear jerker.
Another great chicken soup book in the series.
A must to share between sisters and friends. There is a chapter dedicated to brothers as well. I would have to say this is probably the best chicken soup book i have read by far!!!

My First Chicken Soup book that I have read, and this was simply excellent. I laughed, cried, and it brought back all my childhood memories.

This book really touched me. It taught me to love my sisters whenever they are mean or do bad things. One of these stories was the most awesome story ever! I said that this one girl's sister had cancer and lost all of her hair. When she went to visit her sister she had a hat on that said "having a bad hair day," but when she took the hat off she was bald,she shaved all of the hair on her head off so her sister woulnd't feel bad about having no hair. That was the story that touched me the most.

Don't buy this book...get it FREE from the U.S. Department of Justice via [...]. Also get its companion free (Mapping Crime: Understanding Hot Spots). Materials published by the U.S. Dept of Justice are copyright free and can therefore be used without permission, which this private publisher has done, so get it free from the U.S. government.

This is one of the funniest movies of all time. Mike Myers best and most memorable performance. The scenes with Charlie's father (Stuart McKenzie, also played by Mike Myers) are so funny they will make you laugh until your stomach hurts. Heeeed, paper now!

I was looking to replace a lost copy of this movie and thought I put in my two cents. This movie has it all, murder mystery, martial arts, poetry, songs and dance plus bag pipes and yes, Phil Hartman. This was a great date movie for my husband and I before we got married, and now we watch it every year on our wedding anniversary. If you like the old Saturday Night Live type of humor you'll love this. This movie is like a fine old wine, it gets better with age!!

There aren't so much as five seconds of this movie that aren't hilariously funny. Mike Myers stars as Charlie, a San Francisco coffeehouse poet with a serious fear of commitment and a track record of ending relationships over imagined flaws. When Charlie finally meets the beautiful Harriet (Nancy Travis)--who happens to be a butcher--a series of revelations have him convinced she's Mrs. X, who marries men and murders them on their wedding night. The movie is full of very funny characters and great performances, including Amanda Plummer as Harriet's oddball sister Rose, Brenda Fricker as Charlie's lustful, conspiracy-obsessed mother May, Anthony LaPaglia as the frustrated undercover cop, Alan Arkin as his too-nice police captain, and funniest of all, Mike Myers in the additional role of Stuart, Charlie's belligerent Scottish father (evidently based on Myers' real father). Some of the funniest scenes involve Charlie's poems parodying the "beatnik" style, including the unforgettable "woman woman woman" poem and the "Harriet, hard-hearted harbinger of haggis" poem. You won't be able to stop quoting most of this uproarious movie.

Unlike most people I actually pay attention to critics as I have burned by the hype way too often. Like most great cult films though they really missed on this one. The one liners are top 100 classic and the great supporting cast get the film through potentially slow points. Nancy travis is especially brilliant in a role that is designed to be ambigious. Bottom line, get the DVD, watch, repeat.

Charlie Mackenzie (Mike Myers) has a bit of a commitment problem. It doesn't matter how perfect his girlfriend is, he finds some reason to end the relationship.

Then, into his life, walks Harriet Michaels (Nancy Travis). With just one smile, she melts Charlie's heart. It's love at first site, and Charlie is ready to leave his bachelor days behind him.

There's just one little problem. Reports are circulating the country about a Mrs. X who kills her husbands on their wedding night. And Charlie thinks that Harriet may be Mrs. X. Is he just coming up with another excuse not to commit? Or is he signing his life away by asking Harriet to marry him?

I'm not normally a fan of Mike Myers' comedy, and this movie reminded me why. The reliance on sexual jokes and situations for comedy never appeals to me. Mike also plays Charlie's dad Stuart, and I just found that character annoying.

To further complicate things, the story is rather dull. We know what's coming, and the movie takes too long getting there. If I had been enjoying myself along the way, I wouldn't have minded. But since I wasn't, I didn't. I actually enjoyed the sub-plot about Charlie's friend Tony (Anthony LaPaglia) and his disappointment in his job as a cop more then the main story.

The only thing that gives the movie that second star is the climax. It was actually funny and interesting. It's not enough to make the movie worth watching, but at least it was entertaining.

Die hard Mike Myers fans do love this movie. The rest of us can just move right along.

I just made my way, joyfully, through this book. Her best since "Blue Diary". This is Hoffman at the top of her game, and I loved it, start to finish.

Even though I've thoroughly enjoyed some of her recent works, I feel this is Ms. Hoffman's best book in years! The story is rich, multi-layered, and deeply engaging. Beautiful writing to get lost in telling a tale that you hate to see come to an end. If you've never read Hoffman, do yourself a favor - she's simply the best.

Alice Hoffman is one of the finest writers of these times.Her books have received many awards from magazines and newspapers.

Now, in "The Third Angel" Hoffman writes a very original story that covers the lives of three women who love the wrong men. Maddy Heller is attracdted to her sister's fiance.

Bryn Evans and Frieda Lewis are the other characters in this book who also are involved with the wrong men.

Lucy Green who is at the heart of this story, blames herself for an accident that she witnessed when she was twelve years old. Now she has spent four decades looking for the "third angel" on earth who will renew her faith.

This is a brilliantly written story about unique love.

I enjoyed it very much.

This was a beautiful, moving book. I really wanted to savor it but unfortunately finished it in two days anyway because I couldn't put it down. The writing manages to convey the mood and each character's emotion without being overly wordy.

I've been aware of Alice Hoffman for many years but for some reason never picked up one of her books until now. I have a hard time finding authors I really like and I'm excited to start reading her prior novels.

Alice Hoffman has been my favorite writer for years. But I was totally disappointed with her new novel. I must be getting old. I didn't like the characters, the language, the story. I read 50 pages and then skimmed through the remainder. I then wanted to look at the reviews on Amazon and was shocked to see all the starred reviews and that I was the lone dissenter. Oh well, I will still look forward to her next book.

Excellent book for anyone involved in the planning of worship. Masterfully created by using the artful principles encouraged and putting it into published form.

THANK YOU!

Every pastor responsible for planning and leading a worship service should buy this book, read it, and then do two things. First, find an artist in your congregation who will help you understand how important this book is. Let that artist, or better yet several artists, teach you how the arts can assist you in creating moments of transformation and wonder during that hour on Sunday. Second, honestly respond to the "Questions to Explore" at the end of each chapter. Write out your answers. Discuss them with your staff or leadership team. They are outstanding discussion starters for weekly staff or leadership meetings or even for use in a retreat setting. Dealing with these questions will intensify the impact of this entertaining and informative read.

I read this book from the mindset of a Christian educator who fears that an hour on Sunday is what the average Christian invests in their Christian education. Nancy Beach has provided a timely challenge for we who teach to embrace the value of creativity. She writes from her passion and experience as one dedicated to communicating the truth of God's Word to a culture overwhelmed by information and to generations who learn as much by seeing and experiencing as they do by listening. If you want to make the most of an hour on Sunday you'll be well served by this book.

P.S. If you lead creative people, the bovine metaphor on page 80 is worth the price of the book!

This is one of the most delightful "how to" books I have read in a long time! This book will help both ministers and lay leaders in the planning of the Sunday morning service. The suggestions given are sound, biblical, and can apply to both a traditional setting or a more contemporary setting. The reader is challenged to make the worship hour on Sunday morning more meaningful by first examining his own heart and motive. The goal is to have the worshiper leave the church changed in a more positive way than when they first came. The advice of this book is both timely and easy to follow.
Many times "how to" books are dry and boring to read. The delivery of the material in this book is as entertaining as it is enlightening. The use of illustrations and drawings are intermingled with the text, many times becoming the text. For example, when the book discusses music, you find the text in a sheet of music, like the lyrics of a song. Humor is very much a part of this book. In the first part of the book, the author gives you permission to skip to a page later in the book if you feel you don't need to read that particular section. When you skip to the page indicated, you are admonished and told to return to the section you wanted to skip. All in good humor, of course. There are also thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter that enable you to celebrate the good things you are currently doing in your organization and encourage you to explore new ground.

Good book to give you an idea of how to lead and work with artists in worship.

It was difficult to find the exact descriptive word for this Alice Hoffman novel. "Spectacular" "Imaginative", "Dream-Like"...I couldn't choose. I found "The Ice Queen" absolutely breathtaking. The tale's core centers around fairytails and the realization that life is more than what you wish for. The main character sees her life in "before and after" terms. A quiet librarian, she's forced into living in an uncomfortable environment and then struck by lightning. Much like being reborn, we see her evolve through relationships with a lover, her brother and her sister-in-law. I really enjoy Hoffman's books and this is one of my fave. You many never look at the color red the same way again!

Fairy tales about life and death and cheating both are the basis for this book, I think. I'm not sure and I don't think I want to know for sure. I found myself just enjoying the story as I was pulled through the lives of the characters. Bizarre and unusual yet identifiable. Not my kind of book, but I loved it. Not my style of writing, but who cares when the story line is good. So many novels written these days are long on prose and short on story telling. Not this gem. Enjoy!

This book was wonderful. If you have never read an Alice Hoffman book i would suggest this one as your first.

This is an interesting book. I can't say I enjoyed reading it, but I'm certainly glad I did. The outlook for much of the book is so bleak, that I found myself wanting to stop reading. On the other hand, the writing and story were captivating, I couldn't stop. Definitely a book that makes you think, but mostly about things you try to avoid thinking about. So it's probably a pretty healthy thing to pick up.

I just read a review in which someone said "The Ice Queen Stinks"...I can not for the life of me believe that...from now on in I'm not going to be able to trust another review. This book is so beautiful. And more so, because my father died two years ago and sometimes when I see a butterfly, especially a Monarch, I know it's him.

I also feel sad for the person who didn't finish this book, because the end was incredible and it's where you start really caring about the characters (esp. the main character). I think Hoffman intended on making the main character not very likable, because she (the main character) didn't like herself. Anyway...10 stars, in my opinion.

Great movie, the photography was excellent and the actors played believable rolls. I think the story line was true in many ways.
I rate this as a must see for everyone late teens and older!

Sarcastic humor on top of a deep message about the American chapter of Viet Nam. I enjoyed the movie and Gibson and Downey delivered stellar performances. Really made you think how our government worked with other governments to deliver Holiday Inns (own and opperate).

I consider this one of Robert Downey Jr. better movies and you have to say that Mel Gibson did a wonderful job as well.

This is a good movie for the pilots in the family. Not especially for children after a certain age but has alot of action and is terribly funny. Would recommend to adults.

Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. both in vintage form doing what they both do best - combing action and adventure with just the right amount dark humor. If you are a fan of either there is more than enough to keep you busy and it is well worth adding to your collection.

I listen to this book. I must say it was not as bad as I was expecting. There were some boring parts that I would drift away, but something always brought me back to the story.

Perhaps because I was already well acquainted with the scandalous issues raised in this book due to its wide publicity, I did not find it in the least as breathtaking as I had anticipated. It does raise some controversial topics and elaborates on others that have already been voiced, and is, of course, a very welcome breakthrough for all conspiracy lovers out there. Whether it is mere fiction or a legitimate alternative view on the issue of the Holy Grail, I don't really care. An enjoyable read for me, but that's about it. The action could not grab or fascinate me, the characters were a bit shallow and predictable, and all in all, the book was a little too superficial to my taste. It does have some intriguing descriptions, links and associations, and one can easily see that Brown has done his research well, which made me feel like a complete profane on the topic. The biggest merit of the book is that it makes you reassess critically most preconceptions that are taken for granted in today's society. History, after all, has always been a matter of view point. In terms of literary merit, I must say I enjoyed "Angels and Demons" a lot more. I give this one three stars for the interesting plot, but other than that, it was a little of a disappointment for me.

It's one thing to write blasphemous trash. But couldn't the author have gotten his history straight during the four years he claims to have researched the book? Dan Brown made up the story of a Pope who ran around emasculating statues. There is no record of any such event. Okay, it's a work of fiction, but what's the point of libeling a good man?

In his acknowledgements, Brown refers to his mother, not his father, as his "role model." His protagonist, Robert Langdon, is an equally manly "man."

This is the stupidest book by the stupidest author alive unless he's written something even stupider. I have no interest in finding out.

This book is off to the races from the beginning to end, leaving the reader wanting more after each page as there's mystery, murder, good and bad, as well as lots of historical knowledge. However there are also various perspectives of the authors interpretation of organized religious and anti religious groups which makes the book even more readable but no believable. However, if you really want to read a hollywood movie style book, read his first book Angels and Demons which is even more off the wall.

It has a picture of Mona Lisa's eyes on it. And there is some jumbled code pealing up, like a page being turned. Below that it says The Da Vinci Code in white letters over a red background. It also says Dan Brown on top and The #1 Worldwide Bestseller on the bottom. And there is a golden circle that says Now A Major Motion Picture on it.

The story "The Day of the RFIDs," alluded to in the Daniel Miller review as a highlight of the FUTURE WASHINGTON collection, was actually written by Edward M. Lerner.

Future Washington contains 16 stories from a variety of authors most usually not found in anthologies. The stories posit many different futures for the DC but most are dark and distopian in one way or another.

"Primate in the Forest" by Kim Stanley Robinson, "Hothouse" by Thomas Harlan, "Civil Disobedience" by Joe Haldeman, all have the area suffering from one degree of global warming or another as background.

"Ignition" by Jack McDevitt gives us an idea of what can happen with fundamental religion take over. Paranoia takes over a computer geek in Edward M. Lerner's "The Day of the RFIDs" but is he really that paranoid?

Jane Lindskold in "Tgers in the Capitol" has the original designer of the capitol area who is not all that happy with what was done with his designs. "Hallowe'en Party" by Nancy Jane Moore is basically directions and instructions for a future party in the DC area (the directions are only slightly off from those you'd get if you lived in this security conscious area now).

"Agenda" by Travis Taylor, "A Well-Dressed Fear" by B.A. Chepaities, "The Lone and Level Sands" by L. Neil Smith, "Hail to the Chief" by Allen M. Steele, and "The Empire of the Willing" by Sean McMullen, all deal with politics and intrigue on one level or another.

"Mr. Zmith Goes to Washington" by Steven Sawicki has my favorite aliens (from sfrevu.com's Damned Aliens Column) drop in for a Senate Hearing. "Indiana Wants Me" by Brenda W. Clough gives a look at what could happen to the DC area if Congress moved elsewhere. "Human Readable" by Cory Doctorow deals with the concept of who has access to IT and will it be economic status blind. "Shopping at the Mall" by James Alan Gardner give us a view of what would happen if Americans just disappeared one day.

All in all, there are stories to make you laugh out loud, shake your head in frustration, dispair, and agreement. Those that make you think maybe you should pay just a bit more attention to what are leaders are doing FOR/TO us in DC. Every story is strong with character, place, and plot. It's a good buy.

I was kind of disappointed with this book, honestly--the stories are very hit-or-miss. The best one is by Kim Stanley Robinson, but it's an excerpt from a novel, not written for this collection--probably better to just read the novel. Another highlight is by Cory Doctorow, exploring the use of RFID tags and the Dept. of Homeland Security, although I felt like going up to him and whispering "Your ideology is showing". As for the others, some of them are amusing (particularly one near the end in which Democrats and Republicans have devolved into warring tribes--it reads like it was co-written by David Broder and Hunter S. Thompson), but only a few make a serious attempt at exploring an interesting future. More common are relatively shallow attempts at parody, such as one story in which Indiana real estate agents plant a nuclear bomb in DC and exploit the chaos to move the capital to Fort Wayne. Overall, the book doesn't have enough worthwhile material to make it worth buying. Check it out of a library for a few of the stories, but don't waste your time or your cash.

My expectations weren't high and it still didn't meet them. This is such a bad book on so many levels.

Whoa, this badly written, unsexy epic could have used some serious editing. I'm surprised, since I've enjoyed GG's witty reviews, but there's hardly an amusing line in this tome, which mostly chronicles Greene's narcissistic pursuit of celebs to wine, dine, and bed her. Talk about TMI! You'll come away from these pages feeling like you've eaten mediocre swill at an overrated restaurant; Greene evidently had all the depth of a finger bowl. I agree with others that Reichl's memoirs -- not to mention Fisher's and Child's -- are far, far better reads.

Will I ever finnish this tedious tome? An excess of ego and pointless information. Ruth Reichel's exsquiste "Comfort Me with Apples" benefitted from a genius of editing, I longed for more. With Insatiable I want less. Ms. Greene sometimes writes about food as if it were ad copy.

I had to laugh when she wonders after her second one night stand with Clint Eastwood "I wondered if there could have been something more beyond the hotel room that night"....

I would urge anyone interested in food writing and personalities worth spending time with to read all three of Ruth Reichel's memiors, any of MFK Fisher, and Amanda Hesser's "Cooking for Mr. Latte". A rewarding read awaits you.

I was so looking forward to another food critic's life story like Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphire - one of the best books I have ever read.

I was seriously dissappointed. I realize that at the time Greene became a food critic, critics were well known by the restauranteurs and treated like Queens with special menus the rest of the people dining did not ever see, but I had no idea how bad it was. To think everyones opinion was determined by a few egotistical food critics in New York who never ate the way the rest of the people did is disgusting. Couple this with her flamboyant use of her magazines money to pay for all her meals (and her lovers meals) and you can't find a reason to enjoy the true life of Gael Greene.

Frankly, for me, her little splurge with a porn star was the most interesting part of the book, but then she would move on to sleep with the very chefs she was reviewing.

Halfway through the book it became a real snore with very little mention of food - which is why a foodie would buy such a book. Instead it was one celebrity name after another, one bit of gossip after another and list after list of names of chefs and all their restaurants and if they made it or not. It was more one long dull gossip column than a book.

THERE IS GOOD SCHMUTZ AND BAD SCHMUTZ. THIS BOOK IS EITHER FICTIONAL, OR BAD SCHMUTZ. THERE ARE GLARING ERRORS TO BOOT. CONTRARY TO THE AUTHOR'S HUGE MISTAKE, THE WIDOW OF THE FAMOUS RESTAURATEUR HENRI SOULE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN ALL OF HER LAWSUITS TO GET PART OF HIS ESTATE. AND WHY WOULD THE AUTHOR INCESSANTLY REFER TO SOULE'S LIFE PARTNER, MRS SPALTER, AS HIS "MISTRESS", OVER AND OVER? THIS ELDERLY COUPLE SHARED THEIR LIFE AND WORK 24 HOURS A DAY EVERY YEAR. ONE REFERENCE WAS BAD ENOUGH, WHY HAMMER IT OVER AND OVER?

AND THE WORD IS NOT "MATERIZED", IT IS "MADERIZED", THAT IS, WINE THAT IS OXIDIZED DUE HEAT AND TURNED CARMEL COLORED. EVERYONE WHO DRINKS OR READS ABOUT WINES KNOWS THAT.

THE CONCENSUS OF ALL REVIEWS TO DATE ALL ECHO THE SAME BASIC SUMMARY, THIS IS SCHMUTZY WITHOUT BEING FUN.